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The World's Most-Watched Aerospace and Defense Company

Which defense and aerospace companies showed up on the biggest chunk of investors' watchlists?

Massive cuts loom in the national budget, and the global economy is swiftly changing. In this turbulent environment, some defense and aerospace industry players teeter on the verge of collapse, while others stand poised to profit. This is one of the most-watched industries among those who have created a watchlist with the Fool, and today we're able to single out the one aerospace and defense player that is garnering the most attention.

People watch stocks for different reasons: They're waiting for a dip in price, watching for a specific catalyst, gathering all the news and information that might affect stocks they already own, or considering a sell. Whatever their motivation, we can better understand market sentiment by seeing who's watching what. With the Fool's free My Watchlist service now three months old, we have tens of thousands of people telling us which businesses have, for whatever reason, piqued their interest.

And the most-watched company in this volatile industry is...

Drumroll, please!Looking at the aggregate data, we see that Cubic(NYSE: CUB) is the leader in terms of watch interest -- that's the percentage of people keeping an eye on the aerospace and defense industry in general who are specifically watching each company. Among industry giants such as Boeing(NYSE: BA) and Honeywell International(NYSE: HON), relatively tiny Cubic had a clear lead in watch interest over Boeing, the second entry on the list.

The company likely received a boost from its ongoing coverage in Stock Advisor, where it became a formal recommendation of the service in September 2009. As Tom wrote then:

David and I are constantly on the lookout for leaders who deliver for shareholders and bring the vision, passion, and stamina to build a durable business. Today, let's welcome Walter J. Zable to this pantheon. The 93-year-old (yes, 93) founder and chairman of Cubic has delivered for shareholders (and himself, as a 35% owner) for decades. Along with his son Walter C. Zable and a group of long-tenured executives, he's built Cubic into a $1 billion, two-headed market leader that makes electronic systems for military training and transit fare collection. While I'm not one who likes to invest in businesses that are at the mercy of Uncle Sam's spending, Cubic is staying strong in its growing niches...

With a management team knee-deep in the qualities we love – ingrained market positions, global growth opportunities, and a reasonable stock price – Cubic is a small cap worth your investment dollars.

Here are the rest of the most-watched companies in the industry, their watch interest, and the stocks' CAPS rating, revealing the sentiment of our free investing community:

Company

Market Cap(in Millions)

CAPS Rating(out of 5)

Watch Interest

Cubic

$1,292

****

17.4%

Boeing

$47,580

***

12.1%

Teledyne Technologies(NYSE: TDY)

$1,611

*****

7.9%

Precision Castparts(NYSE: PCP)

$19,996

*****

7.1%

Lockheed Martin(NYSE: LMT)

$25,058

****

6.9%

Honeywell International

$41,747

****

5.6%

Whether you're keeping an eye on the industry giants or are watching the up-and-comers, it pays to watch. You can make smarter investing decisions with your own version of My Watchlist, free from the Fool. Click below to start following one of the stocks mentioned above:

Roger Friedmandoesn't own shares of any of the companies mentioned, but they'll all be on his watchlist. Cubic and Precision Castparts are Motley Fool Stock Advisor selections. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.